The guitarist and singer - who is in the band with drummer Meg White - said he doesn't know how to tackle working with the band again, after they last played together in 2007 - but insists this is a good thing.

He said: "It would definitely be strange to go into the White Stripes again and have to rethink my game.

"But that would be the best thing about it, because it would be a whole new White Stripes. My bands all influence one another, and that's a really good thing."

The group originally stopped touring because of Meg's "acute anxiety problems", but Jack remains hopeful they will return soon, as she "has gotten over a lot of that now".

In the time the group have been on hiatus he has formed and made records with two more bands, The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs, and said he is glad he has the ability to switch between different groups and constantly challenge himself.

He added: "Maybe because of the environment I'm from, the way I've handled the business of what got me into the mainstream, or got the White Stripes into the public eye, I have the ability to say, 'Well, I can stop this whenever I want to, and totally jump into a different river.' I'm very fortunate that I can do that.

"I'm also fortunate that I don't care. I'm told it's not good business, but I just don't care.

"It's more important to challenge yourself and see what works and try new paths. A lot of them are going to be dead ends, but that doesn't matter to me - at least I tried. I could sit home and just do nothing."